Upper Right (my Right) Chest Pain Since Saturday. About 2

Posted on Thu, 13 Dec 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 Answered on

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Question : Upper right (my right) chest pain since saturday. About 2 inches above rib cage. 6 inches to the right of the sternum. Worked at the cabin Saturday and lifted some very heavy objects. Pain started after that. Very specific and static. Small. Pulsed slowly, not with heart beat, more like peristaltic. Was present during sleep Saturday night. Stayed Sunday but was not a sleep factor. Monday it mostly went away. Came back Tuesday and moved a bit toward the center. pain was periodic and random. a bit positional (hurt more when I bent over). My differential was a pulled muscle of ligament. Hour on the treadmill Tuesday morning and today with no symptoms Less frequent but more intense pain today. Sharp short pain. Feel very tight chest, upper bloating and uncomfortable breathing. I have no gall bladder which is what the pain and location feels like. So aside of cardiac which I don't think it is, what are the other possibilities? No hurry, going to bed for the night. Thanks

Answered by Dr. Vaishalee Punj (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Pericarditis, Lungs, costochondritis

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to Ask A Doctor service.

I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

It seems to be acute pericarditis. Inflammation of lining of heart, may corelate with appearance of a viral infection. Second on my list would be a lug condition. Third on my list is costochondritis.

Since the pain is positional and sharp, it is less likely to be acute coronary syndrome.

I will suggest a chest X ray, ECG, Cardiac and lung physical examination. Followed by further tests as required.
Management is pain killers in pericarditis and costochondritis. Otherwise specific management is according to the cause. So yes you need to see a doctor urgently to pinpoint the diagnosis.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Dr Vaishalee

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar